Xylophone.



' J. c. DEAGAN.

XYLOPHONE.

APPLICATION HLED 081224.191].

Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'iEFFERSON CLAUDE DEAGAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

XYLOPHONE.

Application filed October 24, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JEFFERSON CLAUDE DEA- GAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Xylophones, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

My invention relates to musical instruments employing sound producing bars made of wood or metal or other vibrating material that are tuned to produce tones of a musical scale and resonators below or behind such bars. Such instruments are termed xylophones. An increase in the normal temperature of the bars and resonators will sharpen the pitch of the resonators to bring them out of unison with the tones produced by the bars and a decrease from such temperature will flatten the pitch of the resonators. I eflect compensation for impairment of the tones due to modification in temperature by adjustment of the openings in the resonators.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention I locate shutter elements between the resonators and the bars and provide mechanism for simultaneously imparting to these shutter elements opening or closing movements. If the temperature has risen sufliciently materially to throw the resonators out of unison with the tones produced by the bars closing movements are imparted to said shutters. If the temperature has become lowered sufliciently to throw the resonators out of unison with the tones produced by the bars opening movements are imparted to said shutter elements.

I will explain my invention more fully by reference to the accompanying drawing showing the preferred embodiment thereof and in which Figure 1 is a plan view showing an instrument of the Xylophone type with an intermediate portion broken away; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the Xylophone shown in Fig. 1 with an intermediate portion broken away; Fig. 3 is a view on line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4- is a plan view, with parts broken away, illustrating a modification; and Fig. 5 is a view on line 5-5 of Fig. 4:.

Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughout the difierent figures.

The instrument includes sound producing bars 1 each provided with a tubular resona- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

Serial No. 198,272.

tor 2 beneath the same. These resonators are usually open at their upper ends and closed at their lower ends. The bars are so tuned that they will produce tones of a musical scale. They are suitably mounted upon strings 3 that pass through eyes 4: that project upwardly from the side rails of a mounting frame 5. The end rails of the mounting frame carry eyes 6 to which the strings 3 are secured. Each resonating tube has a shutter portion or element, the shutter portions, in the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 1, being merged into a long plate 7 that is movable transversely of the instrument between the open upper ends of the resonating tubes 2 and the bars 1, the resonating tubes being held in fixed positions by means of the mounting rails 8. The base 9 of the shutter plate 7 projects through slots in the ends of the Xylophone frame 5, these slots permitting the base 9 to be moved transversely of the instrument whereby more or less of the plate 7 is interposed between the resonating tubes and thebars to compensate for changes in temperature. The base 9 has threaded sockets 10 at its ends, these threaded sockets being in threaded connection with adjusting screws 11, the sockets and screws extending transversely of the instrument. The screws turn within bearings 12 that are secured to the ends of the mounting frame 5. By turning the knurled screw heads 13, the shutter mechanism 7 may be moved transversely of the instrument to increase or lessen the openings at the upper ends of the resonators. If the temperature has increased unduly the plate 7 is moved inwardly to put the resonators into unison with the tones produced by the bars. If the temperature has decreased unduly the plate 7 is moved outwardly to put the resonators into unison with the tones produced by the bars. To guide the user, the shutter mechanism carries indexes or pointers 1i movable over temperature scales 15, these indexes and scales being located at the ends of the mounting frame 5. The scales 15 have scale marks that correspond to dilferent temperatures and are located to indicate the places to which the indexes 14. are to be brought to compensate for changes in temperature. The scale marks at the lower end of the instrument are wider apart than those at the upper end.

In the instrument made as illustrated in Copies of this patent may be'obtained forfive cents each, by addressing the Commis ioner o E Figs. 4 and 5, the shutters 16 are pivoted at 17 upon one of the mounting rails 8. These shutters are movable across the resonator. They have tail eXtensions 18, the pivots 17 being located between these tail extensions 5. The knurled head 22 is in fixed connec-' tion with the rod 19 and is provided to enable the rod to be turned-to cause its-movement longitudinally of the instrument when the shutters 16 are to be adjusted. The tail extensions 18 increase in length from the lower end of the instrument toward the upper end to secure greater adjusting movements of the shutter elements at the lower end of-the instrument, these adjusting movements progressively 'decre ing toward the upper end of the instrumel An index 23 upon the rod registers with the temperature scale 24.

While I have herein shown and particularly described the preferred embodiment of my invention I do not wish tobe limited to theprecise-details of construction shown as changes may readily be made without departing from the spiritof myinventiom'but having thus described my invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patcut the following A Xylophone having a resonator for each i of a plurality of bars of the ylophone; a shutter'interposedbetween each of said bars and the resonator pertaining thereto, said shutters being mounted to swing across the resonators; and mechanism for simultaneously-swinging said shutters.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this twentieth D. 1917.

JEFFERSON'GLAUDEV DEAGA'N; 7

Washington, 1L0.

day :of October, A. 

